Hellraiser Boxing News | Dave Allen: Ortiz left a sour taste in my mouth, I hope Wilder knocks him outBoth have fights this weekend, and shared a ring in the past, but Dave Allen isn't exactly wishing Luis Ortiz all the best for his fight with Deontay Wilder. Hellraiser Boxing's George Storr spoke to the popular heavyweight.

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In December 2016 David Allen took on Luis Ortiz, who’s currently widely regarded as the world’s third best heavyweight. He did so on short notice at the Manchester Arena but put on a gutsy display, almost biting through his tongue in the process, and was stopped in the seventh.

Now he’s fighting for the Commonwealth Heavyweight Title this Saturday, in Sheffield, on the undercard of Kell Brook versus Sergey Rabchenko. The Doncaster heavyweight told Hellraiser Boxing that he’s fitter than ever and ready for anything Lenroy Thomas throws at him.

He says he’s “one hundred percent” confident but is astutely not looking past his Saturday night bout. Allen added hopefully, “I’m not looking past Lenroy Thomas but it is exciting to think what could happen with a win”.

He also had his say on his former opponent, Luis Ortiz, in his tilt at Deontay Wilder’s WBC World Heavyweight Title:

“Ortiz is very clever. He’s very experienced. But I think his experience is also because of how old he is and Wilder might be too fresh for him now and maybe even a little bit too big. I wouldn’t write Ortiz off, he can definitely punch, but if I had to stick my neck out I think I’d go for a Wilder knockout win.”

On the prediction front though, Allen’s head and heart seem very much dis-united. He explained: “For the good of boxing: Wilder. I hope Wilder wins. Ortiz has failed numerous drugs tests and it left a sour taste in my mouth. For me it would look great it Ortiz wins but for boxing I hope Wilder knocks him out.”

Allen versus Thomas and Wilder versus Ortiz will both be broadcast on Sky Sports this Saturday night (the latter at 2AM Sunday morning). While the bookmakers have Allen and Wilder as clear favourites they are two potentially explosive heavyweight title fights and will likely be competitive and entertaining.